Chapter 4

Chapter 4

She barely noticed the other driver swerving out of the way before her car went careening into a pole.

Her car came to a halt with a loud thud, and Elena hissed in pain as her head banged against the steering wheel.

Everything went black for a few seconds and Elena came around to the sound of a man’s voice.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" Elena vaguely heard the man call for the paramedics to arrive at the scene of the accident.

Elena blinked in confusion at the man as the ringing noise in her head began to quiet down. "Yeah," she groaned in pain. "I'm okay. Please just help me out," she replied as she tried to unhook her seatbelt.

"Okay, here, let me just-" the man agreed, as he opened the car door and attempted to release her jammed seatbelt.

"I'm sorry, I think it's jammed," the man frowned as he tried repeatedly to unlock her seatbelt. The clicking noise made Elena's head ring, so she stopped the man's hand with hers.

"Thank you, Mr...?" Elena inquired.

"Parker. I'm Mr. Parker. I was driving the other car," the man replied.

"Thank you, Mr. Parker, but I think we should wait for the paramedics to cut it. It's probably best if I don't move," Elena whispered, shutting her eyes.

“Alright,” He replied kindly

******

"Is that all?" Elena asked the tow truck driver in relief.

"Yes, ma'am. You just have to sign here," he handed her a form and pointed out where she needed to sign.

With a grateful nod, Elena accepted the pen he offered and quickly scrawled her signature across the page.

"All done! Thank you,”Elena gratefully handed the driver's pen back to him. Just as her phone beeped to signal that her Uber had arrived.

Elena saw a black car pull up behind her and she spun around to walk to her Uber.

Elena entered the Uber with a sigh. The accident left her feeling confused. Her car had been in perfect condition, she knew that. And yet the brakes had failed.

"Hello," The Uber driver murmured quietly and started the drive.

Elena shut her eyes in relief, grateful that he wasn't one of those overly chatty drivers. She needed the quiet in the car to think.

How had her brakes failed?

As the Uber pulled in front of her house, Elena paid the driver and stumbled home tiredly. She passed out on her couch, too exhausted to make the trip upstairs to her bedroom.

******

A loud knock at the door jolted Elena awake.

She got up from the sofa, wiped her face with the end of her shirt and opened the door.

Elena's world rocked as she opened the door to reveal Evangelyn and a lawyer looking man.

Maybe she was overreacting; the man might not be a lawyer. He was dressed like one, but almost everyone wore a suit nowadays.

“Elena, this is Barrister Peters, he’s a successful divorce lawyer.” Evangelyn beamed

Elena tried to suppress her anger, crossing her arms to prevent them from entering, she narrowed her eyes at Evangelyn.

"Evangelyn, what is the meaning of this?" She lowered her voice as irritation flashed through her. "I told you that I've got this all under control,"

She didn't want the lawyer anywhere near her house.

The presence of a lawyer meant her nightmare was real and her marriage was really coming to an end.

"You've got nothing under control, so I bought a lawyer. That son of a bitch will keep tossing you around and playing with your feelings if you don't do something about it immediately," Evangelyn urged with pleading eyes, taking her sister's hands.

"The lawyer might be able to help you; at least, let's listen to what he has to say. It's just a precaution,"

Elena hesitated for a moment because she didn't want a divorce. But deep down, she knew that she couldn't hold on for much longer.

"Fine," Elena agreed with a deep sigh, moving away from the doorpost and reluctantly allowing the lawyer into her home.

"Good day, ma'am," Barrister Peters said with a warm smile on his face.

Evangelyn followed behind the lawyer, and Elena led them all to her living room. Once they were all seated, Barrister Peters got to work.

"So, ma'am, I would like to hear from you. Your sister has filled me in about your marriage, but I would like to hear from you so we can determine the next course of action concerning your divorce," he said kindly.

Elena scowled immediately, offended. "Look, Lawyer, I don't know what she told you about my marriage," Elena said, flashing Evangelyn an irritated look. "But I am not getting a divorce, and honestly, I think it's entirely unnecessary for you to be here at all," she continued in irritation.

"Mrs. Windsor, I need you to understand that if your husband is serious about this divorce, there's no going back; you'll have to go through with it too," the lawyer explained in pity.

Elena hated the pitiful look in his eyes that Evangelyn mirrored. They were staring at her like she was some petulant delusional child.

With a deep sigh, she reluctantly decided to indulge them just so they could leave her house quickly. "What do you need?"

"Yes. Was there any prenuptial agreement between the two of you before your marriage?"

"Yes. There's actually a document; hold on while I get it," Elena turned around and headed upstairs to her bedroom.

Before her wedding with David, he had bought a prenup for her to sign. She had been reluctant because she had no qualms about sharing her wealth with him, but he had insisted that he wanted her to know he was genuine, so she had signed it.

Elena retrieved the document and handed it over to the lawyer confidently.

At least now Evangelyn would see that David was not the monster she made him out to be. So what if he had cheated? He would change for their baby.

“So?” Elena’s stomach tightened into knots as the lawyer read through the document with a bewildered expression on his face.

"Mrs. Windsor, were you under the influence of alcohol or duress when you signed this document?" Barrister Peters asked as he adjusted his glasses on his nose.

"No, not at all," Elena’s voice tinged with fear. "Why do you ask? What does the document say?"

"This prenup essentially ensures that you leave this marriage with nothing but the clothes on your back," Barrister Peters replied with a heavy sigh.

"No," Elena vehemently shaked her head.

"That's not possible. It states that David would leave the marriage with whatever he bought and 25 percent of my assets. I read it before I signed it," Elena explained to the lawyer and Evangelyn, as she frantically snatched the document back from the lawyer to read it herself.

She could barely believe her eyes as she realized the lawyer was right.

How was that even possible?

"Well, I'm sorry, but the document you read is clearly different from the one you signed," the lawyer said solemnly.

"Shit! And now they're getting divorced. That monster! How did he even pull this off?!" Evangelyn hissed in frustration.

"What did you say?!" Elena stood to her feet angrily.

She had Indulged Evangelyn’s nonsense for way too long.

"WE ARE NOT GETTING A DIVORCE," Elena waved the prenup at Evangelyn angrily “THIS IS JUST A DOCUMENT! It’s paper and doesn’t hold any power because I’m not getting a divorce!”

“But El-“

Elena clapped her palms dramatically and raised them above her head.

"I beg you, please leave my house with your bad news,"

“We’re just trying to help—“ Evangelyn protested again.

Elena waved her hands and ushered the lawyer and Evangelyn away.

“Wonderful, but I’m not in need of help,” Elena snapped as she opened the front door, folded her arms and watched as Barrister Peters and her sister walked out.

Elena was about to shut the door when Evangelyn looked at her softly, "David is a God-forsaken bastard, and he doesn't deserve you. But don't worry, I'll be here always, just call me whenever."

Elena felt a mix of anger and despair as she shut the door in her sister’s face.

********

As an act of defiance or perhaps a last-ditch effort to salvage her crumbling marriage, Elena, took a shower and took her time to painstakingly apply her makeup.

In a bold move, she used some of David's favorite perfume, hoping to evoke some sense of nostalgia.

Once she felt ready, she slipped on some lingerie and eagerly waited for David to come home.

********

The bedroom door swung open and Elena sat up on the bed gingerly.

David walked in and Elena stilled as his eyes raked her body in disgust.

"David," Elena muttered, but he cut her short.

"Don't even try," he muttered in disgust. "This is so pathetic, Elena, don't you get it? This is over! Just sign the damn papers already!" David walked to their walk-in closet and began to pack his clothes.

"No, no, David. Please, the baby—" Elena went after him with wide eyes.

"Stop making a fool of yourself and never show up at the office without my permission again," he muttered, as he opened a small suitcase to stuff his clothes in.

Elena felt her heart split open as David zipped the suitcase close and walked out of their bedroom.

“David, please, I promise I'll be better. Please!" Elena sobbed desperately as she ran down the stairs after him while holding onto his suitcase and trying to pull him back.

David pushed her to the floor in irritation, and Elena let out a loud scream as David stormed out of the house.

Still reeling from the shock of David's departure, Elena remained on the floor, sobbing.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and she scrambled quickly to her feet in hopes that it might be David.

But as she opened the door, she saw a package on the floor.

Elena wiped her tears with the back of her palm and picked up the box to read the inscription on it.

The test run on her car had arrived.

Still standing there, Elena ripped the box open and unfolded the single letter inside.

Her hands shook and fear gripped her as her eyes scanned the contents of the letter.